Is it possible to make a living as an artist today?

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Permalink Reply by Jan Leder on October 27, 2010 at 10:21pm

Hi Melissa, it is possible, and you have to balance the business with the creative aspects of your life. I've found that having that balance is a very good thing, even though I'd rather spend more time being creative. We're very lucky to have the resources we have to share our creativity. Anyway, I give a consultation to musicians called "Making a Living in Music Wellness" if you're interested in that.

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Permalink Reply by cheryl gravitt on May 22, 2011 at 10:06pm

Good questions here Melissa. And the way the economy is now, do people have the extra money in their pockets to spend on art? It's very rough nowadays I think.

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Permalink Reply by Erika McGinnis on October 28, 2010 at 4:27pm

I wear many hats to make a living and so does my husband, a musician. We were just turned down for a loan to get a furnace replaced (ours is 42 years old) due to debt to income ratio. Ha! I paint, illustrate (just did a medical illo), teach painting classes, teach Visual Journaling at Boise State U., do bookkeeping for 4 other creative types (who are all in the same boat) and work at a hospital. This is what I wanted to share with everyone out there: I work Saturdays and Sundays at a local hospital (16 hours a week) and get health insurance for both myself and my husband. It's a great trade! Others might look into it.
But now I need to take a nap.

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Permalink Reply by cheryl gravitt on May 22, 2011 at 10:04pm

When I first started reading your story above, I was thinking, "Wow, they are busy people!" I got to the very end, and you said, "But now I need to take a nap." That pretty much says it all right? 

 

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Queblatin on April 23, 2011 at 4:29am

I wanted to set up a discussion for this and good to know there is one. I'm reflecting on this now. I have been juggling 3 non-profit jobs doing design, module writing, et al so I can do art with communities. I feel a bit challenged about going full time as an artist. Next month I have no more commitments with non-profits and will be purely teaching doing workshops here and there.

 

But Im also developing projects like a children's campaign to end armed conflict in my country. Things like these Im wondering if its right to put in an artist fee? How do you go about these things? How much do you allocate when you design your art project for artists?

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Permalink Reply by Nico Daswani on April 24, 2011 at 9:10pm

Hi Sarah! Could you clarify what you mean by "I'm wondering if its right to put in an artist fee"? Are you bringing forward an overall fee to an agency for the armed conflict project and wondering if/how to incorporate an artist fee?

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Queblatin on April 28, 2011 at 5:46am

Hi Nico, yes... or is there a more appropriate term used? Thanks :-)

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Permalink Reply by Nico Daswani on April 28, 2011 at 11:23am

Hi Sarah, that's an interesting one. If there is a clear distinction between the facilitation and the artistic component, then I think it's probably fine to show as separate items in your proposal. Otherwise, I would include it all under one fee for the curriculum development and implementation. Unless the "campaign" includes things like you are creating a video or putting something on stage, in which case I'd imagine you could separate that out. It can help if you are fearing that the fee is too high overall, so that it looks more like a menu and that maybe the client is not interested in A, B, and C, but still interested in X, Y, Z. Does this make any sense?

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Permalink Reply by Danielle Lamar Vilson on April 25, 2011 at 12:27am

I don't think so expecially if you want to do more than just survive. I define myself as a dancer and potential vocalist but I don't think I could make a decent living doing any one or both of these. Unfortuately, I feel unsatisfied. I am a full-time teacher and the closest I get to being a dancer is cheographing which doesn't satisfy my cravings to perform,  it makes them worse. In this society being an artist as well as a teacher is high on the ladder of being "successful" What's interesting just two weeks ago, a craftsperson was trying to give me a clearer perspective because I would like to be an artist, totally, at this point in time of my life. She explained the different things she has to do to make ends me and told mei I'm lucky to get a pay check regularly. My feelings are why we can do both fulfill our passions and get more than adequately paid for them. Yes, there are some who are fortunate enough to make a good amount of money living their dream but how do they make it happen??!!!

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Permalink Reply by cheryl gravitt on May 22, 2011 at 10:01pm

I don't know Danielle, but I do know that they should be thanking their lucky stars. What I do is use my artwork as avatar's on the computer. I post them everywhere, and so far, I've sold about 20 drawings, but it's only every year or so, and bill collector's don't want to wait every year or so to get their money, right?

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Permalink Reply by Nico Daswani on May 11, 2011 at 9:56pm

I just found this article about a huge survey of arts graduates and how they are making ends meet: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-05-03-inside-higher-ed-...

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Permalink Reply by cheryl gravitt on May 22, 2011 at 9:58pm

What's that saying Nico? Don't quit your day job. I would say go into Teaching, but lots of schools are doing away with all but the basics, and sad to say, they don't consider stuff like Art and Music a basic. I think it's a shame, but it's reality.

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